I want it for our new deck - it would get morining sun only.
Other plant suggestions are welcome too! Want it to grow 1-2m wide and about 2m high...
Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Mar 03, 2009 2:42 pm I want it for our new deck - it would get morining sun only.
Other plant suggestions are welcome too! Want it to grow 1-2m wide and about 2m high... Re: Can I grow a crab apple in a big pot? 2Mar 03, 2009 8:18 pm Yep, you bet'cha. You can grow absolutely any fruit tree in a pot. How? Well first choose a big pot. No matter if it is a dwarf fruit tree or not, you need a good size pot. Choose a pot that is wider at the top than the bottom. why? because you are going to have to get the thing out at some time in the next 5 years to re-pot and clip the roots. Something with a outer circumference of 30cm-50cm is ideal. Get the best mix you can afford. You get what you pay for with potting mix. I see so many people buy an expensive plant and get the cheapest mix they can to fill a pot. Then I have to deal with sorting why their plant in years to come is struggling, sick looking and pest ridden. Never put a $20 into a 5cent hole, you'll get a 5 cent plant. The soil is your strongest investment not the plant. Many garden centres have staff that are very poorly educated and have the art of sounding convincing down pat. Get good advice on what is a good mix. Two mixes sold nationally that you can be assured are top quality and value are Yates, Professional potting mix ($13 30ltr bag) Nothing comes close to this mix for any plant. Has out performed any other mix in the country in my trials. The other mix is Osmocote premium potting mix. ($10 30ltr bag). They really are the best performers and best value for money. Lots of others available but I generally won't touch them with a 40ft pole. Searls do some OK ones, as do Amgro in Victoria and Baileys here in WA. Next buy a brick of "coco peat". Costs about $2-3. Mix this stuff into the potting mix and the pot will hold good water for even longer. This stuff is safe (unlike the crystals) organic material that offers great value for money. It is dissolved into water and becomes soil like. Mix into the potting mix before you plant the plant. Adding this does not harm the potting mix. Choosing the fruit tree. So many choices. Pick something practical. Lemons and Limes will be good (limes are a mottza in the shop so grow your own) The crab apple will only be good for stewing and have fruit for a small time. It will also be nude on your balcony for quite a while each year (a stick in a pot). I'd imagine it to be a balcony feature. Pink-a-bell dwarf apples are good. Being a balcony you may not get enough sun light for a stone fruit or apple/pear tree. I think your best bet is going to be a citrus which will handle the cold, have leaves all year and produce lots of fruit year round almost. Avacado also make good pot plants and indoor plants. Mangos may be worth a shot too if you want something different but will require protection from the cold. Olives too will be an excellent choice. Does that help? Re: Can I grow a crab apple in a big pot? 3Mar 03, 2009 8:24 pm ooh,
I recall we got a half wine barrel, drilled holes in the bottom, sanded it up a bit, slapped on some decking oil to the outside to get the oak looking really nice. Then we got two star pickets a shoved them in the back of the pot and filled with potting mix and coco peat. Then cable tied a piece of lattice to the star pickets. Then we planted an olive in it and espaliered it to the lattice. It looked fantastic. It took a year and a bit to get it to a saleable stage, and we got some good coin for it too. Filled the top with small beige pebbles too. Re: Can I grow a crab apple in a big pot? 4Mar 04, 2009 1:02 pm Fu - you are such a ball of knowledge, THANKS for such a succinct reply!
I will be filling the raised beds and pots for our deck this weekend, and will take your advice on the potting mix and peat for sure. I have decided to not do the gardenia hedge (as I spoke about in another post) but have instead bought 9 Regal Claw Kangaroo Paw which I think will look nice (but alas, no divine smell, but more maintenance friendly). I still need to come up with something to plant in the thinner sections of our raised deck beds that will grow maybe 50cm (ish) tall but only 25-30cm (maximum), and match in nicely with the Kanga Paw. I've popped in a picture of the beds below. The section of rendered walls is where the Kanga Paw will be, and the slate wall is for the undecided plant (has a seating bit in front of it...) http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t315/DaisySparkle/Small-deck-a.jpg http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t315/DaisySparkle/Small-deck-b.jpg Great idea re: the lime and other citrus. I actually have a lime tree that is the happiest it has ever been. In a wine barrel. So that can go in the sunny spot on the deck. But still need to sort something out for the more shaddy part of the deck. I'd love to try mango, didn't think they grew down here - is it an OK looking tree?? Olives - I should be outside now preparing soil / garden bed for olives that will be lining the back fence (with an underplanting of lomandra), but it is soooooooooo darn windy that I'll leave it until tomorrow. I love olive trees. Other pictures below are of the re-haul I did out the front when we moved in last year. Before... http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t315/DaisySparkle/Beforea.jpg After... http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t315/DaisySparkle/After1.jpg Thanks once again for all your advice. Re: Can I grow a crab apple in a big pot? 5Mar 04, 2009 6:32 pm Leucophyta brownii compacta
Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ the picture above seems to be the best example i can find but isn't the better compacta form. This forms really tight compact silver foliage that would be an excellent contrast. Doesn't get too big and responds well to clipping. maybe lomandra seascape would be a soft whispy look in those narrow boxes? Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The Kanga paws ( another excellent WA plant ) will need to be clipped back about this time of year (next year for you because you're planting now). This will make sure you get the best flower and the reduce the black ink spotting they can get in winter. can I suggest having a look at the beautiful plain old anigozanthus manglesii Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ This fella is one of the toughest of all the kangapaws and isn't hybridised. another ripper against that wall would be a black kangapaw called macropidea Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ This one is different but also commonly called a kanga paw. They look awesome Hello I'm remodeling my kitchen and evaluating ideas. We are in the last stages of drawing and I am now considering putting a pot filler tap in above the hob. Has anyone… 0 1395 I work with owner, he/she is my man on the ground and I instruct them when to visit the site and take photos and I have other tools in the bag. 4 15650 |